Signaling devices designed for motor vehicles are well known in the art. Since the earliest days of the automobile and other motorized vehicles, various indicator lights were added to the outside surface of the vehicle, activated by the driver, to warn other drivers of his or her intentions. Brake lights, turn signals, reverse lights and hazard warning flashes are conventional examples of such indication devices. These indicators are generally powered by a vehicle's electrical system, and the brake lights are red in color, the turn signals and hazard signals are amber in color and the reverse lights are typically white in color.
There is, however, a driving condition that can cause confusion to other drivers and that does not currently have an indicator to give notice of the condition. The condition normally occurs when a driver arrives at a four way intersection along with one or more drivers that approach the same direction. A conscientious driver will use his or her turn signal to indicate a turn, however, a less conscientious driver may neglect to do so. Although the drivers need to signal their intentions to one another, there is no adequate signal for proceeding in a straight forward direction. In the spirit of driving defensively, it would be advantageous for a driver to have an additional indicator that would signal to other drivers that the driver intends to proceed in a straight ahead direction.
In the past decade, a number of advancements have occurred in the automobile industry. An example of such an advancement is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,755 (hereinafter the '755 patent) issued to Boxer on Mar. 24, 1998. The '755 patent discloses an indicator for designating a U-turn attempt having a series of sequentially illuminated lights forming the shape of the letter U. The U-turn indicator is activated by an actuator and a control module responds to the actuator and generates a control signal, thereby sequentially illuminating the series of lights. However, the '755 patent only provides for a U-turn indicator and fails to address a directional signal used when a driver is proceeding in a straight ahead direction.
Another advancement is depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,990 (hereinafter the '990 patent) issued to Hymer on Dec. 8, 1998. The '990 patent is a device for an automotive vehicle used during signal braking, deceleration, turning of the vehicle or an emergency situation. The device has two bodies facing rearwardly, mounted near the top of the back or the highest point of the vehicle adjacent the sides of the vehicle. Each body has a base and a cover with translucent lenses. Here, the light sources and reflectors are disposed on the base for illuminating the lenses to create the signaling as required. The device lights one or more lenses in the cover indicate braking while lighting an arrow shaped lens in the cover and a side lens facing out from the vehicle indicate intended turning. Although the '990 patent indicates when a driver intends to brake or make a left turn or right turn, it expressly fails to provide for a signaling device designed to indicate when a driver is proceeding in a straight forward direction.
Another advancement was the incorporation of a vehicle signal light assembly that conveys a plurality of messages to pedestrians and/or occupants of other vehicles as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,515,583 (hereinafter the '583 patent). The '583 patent discloses a vehicle signal light assembly having a housing base which supports at least two circuit boards and a transparent or translucent cover to protect the circuit boards. Each circuit board carries light emitting diodes (LEDs) arranged to convey at least one message. In particular, the assembly can convey a word or symbol message in a horizontal orientation while the assembly is easily adapted for installation in a variety of orientations including right hand and left hand orientations. However, the '583 patent fails to claim and teach a vehicle signal device alerting surrounding vehicles of the driver's intention of proceeding in a straight forward direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,518,624 issued to Smith on Jun. 30, 1970, describes a combination signal light which is mounted on the roof of a vehicle. There is a need for a less obtrusive signal system which can be observed from a variety of positions relative to the vehicle.
There is a need for a distinct indicator to a driver that a straight ahead signal is activated.
In view of the above described deficiencies associated with the use of conventional vehicle indicator signal devices, the present invention has been developed to alleviate these drawbacks and provide further benefits to a user. The present invention and its benefits are described in greater detail herein below with respect to several alternative embodiments of the present invention.